Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Shock: Sprint Cup Chase Changes

From ESPN: While Clint Bowyer's spin got all the attention at Richmond, a few questions from a puzzled Brian Vickers and the promise of a post-race kiss led to one hefty punishment from NASCAR.Ryan Newman replaced Martin Truex Jr. in the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship on Monday night when NASCAR penalized Michael Waltrip Racing for manipulating the outcome of last weekend's race.
Michael Waltrip Racing was fined $300,000, and general manager Ty Norris received an indefinite suspension. Truex, Bowyer and Vickers were docked 50 points apiece -- but Bowyer's deduction does not affect his position in the Chase, which begins Sunday at Chicago.
"We penalize to not have this happen again," NASCAR president Mike Helton said. "It's a message from the league saying 'You can't do this.'"
Newman was leading late during Saturday night's race at Richmond, where a victory would have given him the final spot in the 12-driver Chase field. But Bowyer spun to bring out a caution, setting in motion a chain of events that ultimately led to Newman losing the race and Bowyer teammate Truex earning the final Chase berth.  http://espn.go.com/racing/nascar/cup/story/_/id/9655907/nascar-replaces-martin-truex-jr-chase-ryan-newman
That being said, Jeff Gordon then got screwed by not being put in the chase.
But this is unprecedented and I am not sure if this is the right decision, given what has happened in the past in NASCAR.

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